Nutrition for Global Health

This unit investigates the epidemiology of current and emerging global nutrition challenges from a biological, social, economic and policy perspective. The unit explores issues of maternal and child under-nutrition in low and middle income countries and the growing global momentum to address these with evidence-based interventions delivered to scale. The double-burden of nutrition related diseases as a result of changing food consumption and physical activity levels is increasingly becoming a major public health concern globally with an increase in obesity and non-communicable diseases. This unit explores specific issues around the double burden of nutrition-related communicable and non-communicable disease and recent advances in efforts to tackle this both globally and locally to meet the World Health Assembly Nutrition Targets by 2030.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Investigate the distribution and epidemiology of under and over nutrition globally and using a lifecycle approach predict which population groups are most vulnerable and why;
2. Assess the risks to health in terms of mortality and morbidity and the environmental, economic and social burden of under and over nutrition;
3. Critically apply conceptual frameworks to analyse the causes of under and over nutrition in specified populations;
4. Argue the benefits to development of investing in nutrition and propose cost effective interventions; and
5. Conceptually map global and national policies and initiatives designed specifically to combat under and over nutrition and evaluate the challenges of implementing these to scale.